on the trail of the archaic revival

This site is not a just recipe website, although thats what it comes across as. What we are really sharing here are techniques: some of which our ancestors perfected over years and years, all over the world. Fermentation, soaking grains, beneficial herbs, bone broth, & preserving food are all part of what we like to call 'the archaic revival'. We also serve up ideas, challenges and neat foods and vegetables that you may not have tried.

Our priority is to use fresh organic produce, dairy, grains and meats. We begin with the groceries available to us (and that we can afford), preferably at a local farmers market and/or co-op. Once we have our ingredients, then we either look them up in the index of one of our fave cookbooks, or barge ahead on inspiration. One thing we are sure of - organic just tastes (feels!) better. Because we really love food, its all about using wonderful ingredients.

connecting food to farming

Its difficult to over-estimate the value of farmers and their endeavors. Given the importance of their work to our health, they would seem to deserve all our affection and more. We are encouraged by the recent trend away from big agriculture and monoculture. The small (and large) organic farms that are cropping up all around the world are making life better for their communities, and maybe for all of us. Organic meat, cheese, wine and beer are also making inroads to modern life. Sometimes the word 'conscious' comes up in place of organic: this word denotes the sense of personal responsibility that may lead to a better future.

contact us

We welcome your input, comments, submissions and suggestions. If you have questions about a recipe, life in northern california or kung-fu cooking, we would be happy to answer them. mail at wonderfulingredients dot com

kamut-oat buttermilk pancakes

every once in a while dylan gets a feeling for pancakes. a sunday morning perusal of the web led me to some neat blogs and fine ideas. our recent use of kamut grains and our local raw goat buttermilk inspired these fluffy, nutty whole grain wonders. the secret i found, is to let the batter rest a bit, it thickens and poofs up as the baking soda/powder and buttermilk do their magic making for a thick and light pancake. cook these one at a time, serving on plates warmed in the oven as soon as they come off the griddle, slathered in something delicious (see below).

using a vita-mix blender or grain grinder, separtely grind the kamut and oats to a fine flour. sift the fresh ground flours together with the salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl. if you have any chunky bits of grain left in the bottom of the sifter, toss them back in the vita-mix for another few swirls and add to the bowl. gently stir a few times using a wire whisk.

add the melted butter and whisked egg to the flour mixture and stir it up w/ a fork, you’ll have a semi-moist clumpy batter. add the buttermilk, whisk to incorporate with a light hand. batter will be clumpy and not too loose. now, make up some raspberry syrup and let your batter rest for 5 minutes.

heat a grill, saute pan or cast iron over medium heat. you’ll want it hot, but not so hot it burns butter. add a pad of butter to the pan, once it sizzles and melts a bit, add a large (1/3 cup or so) dollop of batter. if you’ve let your batter rest up, it won’t spread too much and will create a nice thick fluffy pancake. the edges will bubble up a bit and the batter will set on top after a minute or two, flip the pancake and cook another few minutes, until each side is a lovely golden color. add butter to the pan as needed to cook up the rest of the batter, makes 8-12 medium size pancakes. serve hot with honey butter, raspberry syrup, maple syrup or your topping of choice.

add the berries, sugar and water to a pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. turn the heat down and simmer for 4 minutes. turn off the heat, and pour into a glass pyrex measuring cup, the kind with the little spout or a fancy gravy dish and ladle your hot syrup onto your hot buttery pancakes. for a smoother consistency, pulse in the blender a few times before serving.** if you're feeling crazy, add a cup of hot coffee to your dirty raspberry pan and a little cream. slowly re-heat and serve for your breakfast dessert... raspberry coffee, yum!